The Age of American Unreason

Susan Jacoby’s The Age of American Unreason

Our country is barely smarter than a fifth grader -- no wonder it's drowning in religious fundamentalism and political ideologues on both sides, argues Susan Jacoby.salon.com/books/review/2008/02/15By Laura Miller

US education, like the US health system, is notorious for its failures. In the most powerful nation on earth, one adult in five believes the sun revolves round the earth; only 26% accept that evolution takes place by means of natural selection; two-thirds of young adults are unable to find Iraq on a map; two-thirds of US voters cannot name the three branches of government; the maths skills of 15-year-olds in the US are ranked 24th out of the 29 countries of the OECD. George Monbiot o The Guardian, Tuesday 28 October 2008

The 2007 study, which NEA Chairman Dana Gioia termed “alarming,” found “reading proficiency rates are stagnant or declining in adults of both genders and all education levels,” and that, as of 2005, scarcely more than a third of high school seniors read at or above the proficient level.)

Darwinism (read: validated science) and its religious opposition occupy much of Jacoby’s discussion and form the perfect paradigm underpinning her book. Approximately 45% of those with no education beyond high school believe in the literal truth of the Bible, she reports, and in a 2006 survey by the Pew Foundation, 60% of white evangelical Christians contended that the Bible, not popular representation, should shape U.S. law. .latimes　February 10, 2008

Ms. Jacoby notes that two-thirds of Americans cannot name the three branches of government or come up with the name of a single Supreme Court justice. She cites one survey finding that American 15-year-olds rank 24th out of those from 29 countries in mathematical literacy, and another indicating that only 57 percent of adult Americans had read a nonfiction book in a year.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/books/

米国の成人の５人に１人は天動説を信じていますし、26%しか進化論を信じていません。そもそも、高卒以下の人々の約45%は聖書に書かれていることはすべて真実だと信じています。それどころか、白人の原理主義的（evangelical）キリスト教徒の60%は、議会ではなく、聖書に拠って米国の法律が制定されるべきだと考えているのです。
　また、成人のたった57%しか年間に１冊以上ノンフィクションの本を読んでおらず、若い成人の３分の２はイラクがどこにあるか地図上で示すことができず、成人の３分の２は米国の３権を列挙することができず、同じく３分の２は１人の最高裁判事の名前も挙げることができません。15歳の数学の力はOECD 加盟29カ国中24位ですし、2007年の研究では読む力が男女とも、しかも教育レベルの相違にかかわらず、低下気味であることが明らかになっています太田述正ブログ

　「正気を失いつつあるアメリカ」とでも訳せそうな、アメリカ人による祖国に対する警告のような本に関する書評の一部です。？

　、アメリカの宗教的傾向が強いことはそうでしょうけど、アメリカが小学５年生程度とも、思いませんし、日本の知的状況がアメリカよりいいとも思っていませんが、一部米人のアジア・日本蔑視の傲慢なコメントに対するカウンターとして一応記録しておきます。

外国人に対する金融

ALIEN IDENTIFICATION（ｐｄｆ）
外国人との契約というのは、その契約を遂行させることができるか、という問題がつきまとう、つまり、国外に逃げてしまえばそれまでだからだ。

アメリカではどういう対処をしているか？

永住許可のある外国人

What documentation is needed for Permanent Resident Aliens?
Permanent Resident Aliens are usually eligible for loans on the same terms as a U.S.
citizen. Obtain the original of the following documents:
• Alien Registration Receipt Card (INS Form I-551 with a 10 year expiration date on
the front but not on the back; or a
• Conditional Alien Registration Receipt Card (INS Form I-551) accompanied by an
unexpired INS Form I-751 (Petition to Remove the Conditions of Residency) filing
receipt; or an
• Unexpired foreign passport that contains an unexpired stamp reading “Processed for
I-551. Temporary Evidence of Lawful Admission for permanent residence. Valid
until (date), Employment authorized.”

条件付き外国人居住者

What is a Non-permanent Resident Alien?
Non-permanent resident aliens are citizens of another country who reside in the U.S.
under a Conditional Resident Alien Card, Temporary Resident Card, work visa, student
visa or some other permit for some specified period of time. (Hint: the 9-11 terrorists
were in this category!) To consider lending to NRAs, many banks use the following
guidelines:
• Visa Status. must be documented to determine eligibility
• Visa must allow residency for at least 1 year for owner-occupied properties
• Purchase

非在米外国人

What is a Foreign National?
Foreign Nationals are citizens of another country who have a valid visa to live or visit in
the U.S. A Foreign National is not a non-permanent resident alien, permanent resident
alien or a U.S. citizen. Usually Foreign Nationals do not have Green Cards, and cannot
work in the U.S. Some banks will loan to Resident aliens for second home purchases
only. (For example, SunTrust offers loan amounts up to $500,000 with a 35% down
payment and only 1/1, 3/1, 5/1 and 7/1 ARMS.) Documentation for Foreign Nationals
can include:
• Passport (Passport must show issue and expiration dates, passport number, and
photo.)
• I-94 (front and back) The I-94 is placed in the passport by the Immigration and
Naturalization (INS) officer when the Foreign National enters the U.S.
• Visa and relevant supporting documents as outlined in Appendices A and C.

　様々な身分証の提示をしてもらっているようだ。
　日本の業者の方々も参考にしていただきたい。

外国人移民に対する執拗な罵倒

Leave hateful rhetoric out of immigration discussion
Blog comments reflect stereotyping and bigotry

By MARVIN D. NATHAN and MARTIN B. COMINSKY Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Dec. 11, 2008, 8:30PM

What concerns us at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is despite Carroll's attempts to reach readers with the results of research that "found that recent immigrants are far less likely than their U.S.-born counterparts to commit crimes and end up in prison," anti-immigrant bigots seized on parts of her series to insult, stereotype, and even advocate violence against immigrants and others they perceived to be immigrants, especially Hispanics.
Here are some examples of the comments from Chronicle blogs:
• "This is a no-brainer to me. Start with the jails and get all those people deported, then construction companies, garbage companies, landscape companies, restaurants and must I go on?"
• "All of our grandchildren's children are going to live in a third world country."

• "We the taxpayers are footing the bill for these society leeches.The people from Katrina were bad enough. Our crime rate is still high."
• "I got a great idea ― just shoot them on the spot if they commit a serious crime in Texas."

ADL has noticed an increase in such rhetoric among extremist groups in recent years, coupled with a marked increase in hate incidents and hate crimes against Latinos and those perceived to be Latinos. Further, the FBI has documented a disturbing four-year trend in the increase of hate crimes against Latinos from 475 in 2005 to 595 in 2007 nationally.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook
/6160458.html
http://www.adl.org/ADL_Opinions/Civil_Rights/HoustonChron_121208.htm

外国出身移民の犯罪率がアメリカ出身のアメリカ人よりもよほど低い、という記事にも係わらず、コメントでは、

「簡単なことじゃないか。こいつら全部ぶちこんで退去させろよ。建設業にゴミ収集業者、造園業者にレストラン。わかるだろう？」
　「我が孫たちころには、この国は開発途上国になっちょるのお」
　「おれら税金が蛭に巻き上げれられている。カトリナもひどかったが、犯罪率はまだまだ高い」
　「いい考えがある。やつら犯罪犯したらその場でぶち殺したれ」

　２チャンネルじゃなく、普通の記事のようです。
　
　こうした、ことはやめれええええ！！！という論旨ですけど、それほど外国人移民に対しての反感は強いんでしょうね。